Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning everyone.
I'm very pleased to be appearing before you today. To try to do our best to be as effective as we possibly can in answering your questions, I have with me Assistant Commissioner Bob Paulson, who's in charge of national security criminal Investigations, and Inspector Mike Furey, who's in our border integrity branch.
I'll start, Mr. Chairman, by saying that a secure and efficient border is essential for the protection and safety of Canadians as well as Canada's economic prosperity and security. In pursuing this objective, the protection of Canadian sovereignty and maintaining the integrity of its borders are imperative.
In pursuing this objective, the protection of Canadian sovereignty and maintaining the integrity of its borders are imperative. No single agency has the sole mandate or capacity to fully secure our shared border. The two primary enforcement agencies responsible for the border are the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP. At the ports of entry CBSA is mandated to administer the Customs Act and border-related legislation, including some parts of the Criminal Code. The RCMP is responsible for the carriage of major investigations at the points of entry and for the enforcement of the Customs Act, Criminal Code, and other federal legislation between the ports of entry.
This type of criminal activity that we're seeing today and the modern tools employed in carrying out elicit activities pose major challenges for law enforcement. Globalization and the Internet have fueled the ability for criminals to operate transnationally. Geopolitical boundaries, legal and regulatory impediments, and concerns over sovereignty are just some of the issues that law enforcement must overcome. These same challenges do not impact organized crime networks. We are mitigating those challenges by building meaningful partnerships through joint threat assessments and by developing innovative ideas and solutions.
Protecting the Canada-U.S. border is an enormous undertaking and one that we take very seriously. Given the diversity of the terrain, infrastructure, and population density, no single solution will address all threats. Our border security solutions must be uniquely tailored to address specific gaps and vulnerabilities along our diverse border and flexible enough to rapidly respond to the displacement of criminality.
The RCMP recognizes that a smart and secure border requires a balanced, multifaceted, intelligence-led approach. Effective security requires a clear understanding of the threats and risks of the border; efficient utilization of intelligence, technology, and personnel; enhanced utilization of mobile assets and resources; and partnering with domestic and international stakeholders.
The joint Canada-U.S. threat and risk assessments are completed on a regular basis. They provide an analysis of the degree to which illegal activity is occurring, its severity, and its impact on national security and public safety. These assessments are developed jointly by Canadian and U.S. partners. This cooperation is vital, in that the risks, threats, and vulnerabilities along our shared border are identified, analyzed, and assessed on an international basis rather than a national or localized basis.
These joint threat assessments, which identified organized crime as the most prevalent threat along the Canada-U.S. border, require the participation of both border and inland investigative teams. The threat assessments have also indicated that organized crime groups are extremely adaptable to heightened enforcement activities, thus emphasizing the need for a comprehensive border strategy with flexible solutions to address the displacement of criminal activity from one geographic area to another. Completing the joint threat assessment is the border integrity national technology strategy. This strategy ensures that the RCMP is equipped with advanced technology necessary to deliver effective border integrity. As an example, a Canada-U.S. radio interoperability pilot project is under way in Montana and Alberta. Although progress was slow coming, we recently saw significant progress being made.
In March 2007 the United States Congress directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to redirect $20 million of the border security, fencing, infrastructure, and technology appropriation to begin addressing needs and vulnerabilities along the U.S. northern border. As a result of this directive, CBP is developing a secure border initiative network prototype that will inform and demonstrate the technology issues associated with the integration of air, land, and maritime assets along the Canada-U.S. border into a common operating picture.
The U.S. Border Patrol formally invited the RCMP to be represented at the SBI-net design table. In April 2008, the RCMP deployed an officer to Washington for a period of two years to work on the SBI-net design team. This secondment provides Canada with the opportunity to:
It will influence the design and rollout so as to address any Canadian concerns; incorporate, as appropriate, the integrated border enforcement teams into a secure border initiative implementation; and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, interoperability between U.S. and Canadian technologies.
As the border is more often than not a transit point for organized crime rather than a base of operations, law enforcement efforts must be coordinated both at the border and at inland communities. Intelligence gathered in one domain often leads to the identification of illegal activities in others. The RCMP strategy relies upon a fluid exchange of timely intelligence between our inland investigative units and border enforcement units, such as the integrated border enforcement teams.
Finally, as this committee heard on Tuesday, the integrated border enforcement team program encompasses many of the components required for a broad and effective border strategy. This is accomplished through enhanced law enforcement relationships at our shared border by identifying, investigating, and interdicting persons and organizations that pose a threat to national security or engage in other criminal activity.
Our border security solutions must continue to be uniquely tailored to address specific gaps and vulnerabilities along our diverse border and flexible enough to respond to the displacement of criminality. New initiatives in responses to counter cross-border criminality need to be a component of a comprehensive, integrated, multi-layered approach to cross-border threats. Law enforcement must address both the border and inland communities in order to effectively target organized crime groups as well as to address the domestic organized crime terrorist threats.
In August 2008 representatives from the CBSA and RCMP met with their United States counterparts from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard to discuss ways to enhance the border security efforts of Canada and the United States. This meeting led to a draft statement of principles document that recognizes that a smart and secure border builds upon a balanced, multifaceted, intelligence-based approach that is manifested through improved integration. It is important that integrated security models be created that will address the illicit cross-border activity as well as the displacement of such criminality.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I can assure you we are always seeking opportunities for improvement and we are constantly examining new and innovative initiatives to counter the ever-evolving threats. We can never be satisfied or become complacent with respect to border security. We must remain ever vigilant to work with domestic and international law enforcement partners to identify solutions to overcome barriers to effective cross-border law enforcement.
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to thank the committee for inviting us here today, and we would be pleased to take your questions when you're ready.